Nipple for nursing bottles



Dec. 31, 1940. i Q EDWARDS 2,227,389

NIPPLE FOR NURSING BOTTLES Filed May 2, 1959 I N VEN TOR.

A TTORNEY Patented Dec. 31, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NIPPLE FORNURSING BOTTLES German 0. Edwards, Oakland, Calif.

Application May 2, 1939, Serial No. 271,255

'1 Claims. (01. 128-252) The present invention relates to a nipple fornursing bottles and particularly to a nipple designed to simulate asnearly as possible natural nursing exercises of the jaws and thereby tocorrect and prevent facial, oral and dental malformations in childrenwhich may result from congenital conditions or improper nursing as wellas from other causes. In Patent 1,990,225, issued to me on February 5,1935, for a Mandible developer,

there is disclosed a device adapted to be attached to a nursing bottlefor the purpose of causing the nursing infant to receive the nipple inits mouth in a proper manner and in a manner that will encouragedevelopment of the mandible or lower jaw. The present invention is for anipple that will accomplish the same results as the mandible developerand which has certain advantages not possessed by the latter, amongwhich are that it requires no adjusting and is more comfortable to theinfant.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a nipple for anursing bottle which will cause the nursing infant to receive the nipplein its mouth in a proper postion and encourage normal exercise of thoseportions of the mouth, throat, face, and jaws necessary to effect strongnatural development of the oral features and jaws. This will produce inthe growing child a mandible of a shape that will accommodate properly anormal eruption of teeth and facial contour. It is a further object ofthe invention to provide a nipple that may be received only in theanterior portion of the mouth and that can not during nursing projectinto the posterior oral cavity and that will thus prevent air from beingmixed with the milk as it is drawn fromthe nipple and will cause theinfant to reach forwardly with the lower jaw as well as with the tongueand to extract milk from the nipple with a normal chewmg motion makingswallowing easier and reducing choking. Further objects and advantagesof the invention will be made apparent in the following specification,wherein a preferred form of the invention is described in detail, andwherein reference is made to the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a nursing bottle nippleembodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line IVIV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the nipple;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a modified form of the invention whichconsists of an attachment for a standard nipple; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the form shown in Fig. 5, the attachmentbeing shown in place upon a nipple of conventional design. 5

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawing, the invention is illustratedas comprising a nipple shaped with the usual enlarged open end Hiadapted to be placed over the neck of a nursing bottle, with the reducedclosed end ll adapted to 10 be taken into the mouth of the infant andprovided with the usual perforations through which milk may be sucked.The present invention provides in conjunction with this nipple a pad I2,I preferably formed of rubber and molded in- 16 tegrally with thenipple. This pad is positioned transversely of the nipple as bestillustrated in Fig. 2 to engage the upper lip or the space between thenose and the mouth of the infant when the nipple is taken into itsmouth, thus to limit the 20 distance to which the nipple may be takeninto the mouth and to cause the lower jaw to be thrust forwardly inorder that milk may be sucked through the nipple. A fin l3, alsointegrally formed with the nipple, is preferably disposed 25 behind thepad l2 and longitudinally of the nipple to serve as a support to lendrigidity to the pad l2 and insure its being held in a positionsubstantially perpendicular to the mouth end of the nipple. The fin I3may, if desired, be en- 30 larged as shown at M to serve as a fingergrip by means, of which the nipple may conveniently be picked up andmanipulated in placing it over the neck of the bottle. Ribs l5 (seeFigs. 4 and 5), similar to but smaller than the rib l3, serve '35 tolend further rigidity to the pad l2 and to prevent the wing-like endsthereof from being too readily bent back. While the nipple isconsiderably thickened by the reinforcing ribs l3 and I5 along its topsurface, the opposite or lower sur- 40 face thereof, and particularlythat portion shown at It in Fig. 3, is not thickened but is preferablymade slightly thinner than is customary practice in most nipples so asto permit free forward and chewing motion of the lower jaw duringnursing. 45

The modified form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7comprises a pad I! similar to the pad l2 shown in the other form, butjoined to a ring 18 rather than being formed as a part of the nippleitself. The ring l8, as illustrated in Fig. 6, 50

is adapted to he slipped over a conventional nipple so that the benefitsderived from the present invention may be obtained through the medium ofan attachment to the nipple as well as through a specially designednipple. The pad I1 is pref- 5 erably also reinforced and held in anerect position by a rib I9 which bears against the nipple upon which itis placed. The ring [8 as here shown is formed of rubber sufficientlyresilient to admit of its being placed over the nipple and caused firmlyto adhere thereto. This ring, however, may be formed of metal or othermaterial and any suitable means may be used for securing the pad I! inproper position relative to the nipple.

It is an established fact that the formation of the lower jaw is largelyresponsible for the position in which the teeth erupt. A receding orunder-developed lower jaw results in crowding, misalignment, andirregularity of teeth, and even though o-rthodontia is resorted to foraligning the teeth, there is a great tendency for them to return totheir irregular position as the result of antagonistic forces exerted bythe bones of the underdeveloped jaw. It has been established throughclinical tests that development of the lower jaw, especially prior tothe eruption of the first teeth, is extremely valuable not only as apreventative of misaligned or crooked teeth, but also to improve thegeneral appearance of the face and to insure proper development of therespiratory passages which prevents the growth of adenoids and otherrelated disorders.

The practice of encouraging growth or development of the lower jaw ininfancy is increasing rapidly among the medical and dental professions,and a nipple constructed in accordance with the present inventionprovides a simple and inexpensive device by which such development maybe produced with remarkable facility and without the necessity of costlyappliances, uncomfortable to the child and requiring technicalsupervision during their adjustment. The nipple causes the same exerciseto the muscles of the lower jaw, throat, and tongue which is an aid indeveloping the lower jaw as of breast feeding. The baby at the breastalways thrusts the lower jaw forward to relieve the pressure on thenostrils so it can breathe. This nipple, by having the contact only onthe upper lip, the lower part of the nipple being quite resilient,invites the lower jaw and tongue to come forward, relieving the blockingof the throat and automatically produces exercise encouraging jawdevelopment.

While the invention has been set forth herein by description of aspecific form, it is to be understood that it is not limited to thisparticular form, which may be varied within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1 A nursing nipple comprising in combination with the usual mouthpiecean integrally formed resilient pad extending transversely and above themouthpiece to engage the upper lip only of the nursing infant andencourage the lower jaw being thrust forwardly during nursing.

2. A nursing nipple having the usual mouthpiece and comprising atransversely resilient integrally formed pad engageable with the upperlip only of the nursing infant and reinforced against rearward flexingmovement by integrally molded ribs.

3. An attachment for a nursing nipple comprising a member supported bythe nipple in a position to engage the upper lip of the nursing infantand positioned to permit free forward movement of the lower jaw.

.4. An attachment for a nursing nipple comprising a pad shaped forengagement with the upper lip of an infant and means for securing saidpad to the nipple in a position to limit the distance to which thenipple may be drawn into the mouth without obstructing forward movementof the lower jaw during nursing.

5. The combination with a nursing nipple of a pad shaped to conform tothe upper lip of an infant and positioned to engage the upper lip whilethe infant is nursing and to permit the lower jaw to be thrustforwardly, and reinforcing means between the pad and the nipple wherebythe pad. will be sufiiciently rigid to prevent the end of the nipplebeing drawn too far into the mouth.

6. The combination with a nursing nipple of a pad positioned adjacentthe end of the nipple substantially at a right angle thereto andextending transversely of the nipple to bear against the upper lip of anursing infant to prevent the nipple being taken too far into the mouthand to encourage the infant to exercise its lower jaw in nursing, andreinforcing means comprising rib's formed on the back of said pad andextending to the nipple.

7. In combination with a nursing nipple having the usual mouthpiece andbottle engaging portion, a lip engaging pad formed integrally with thenipple substantially perpendicular to the mouthpiece, said pad being ofa size and shape to engage the upper lip of a nursing infant but topermit the lower jaw to be thrust forwardly in nursing, and a pluralityof integral reinforcing ribs extending from the back of the pad to thesaid bottle engaging portion of the nipple to prevent collapse of thenipple behind the pad and retain the pad in its proper position duringuse.

CORMAN O. EDWARDS.

